Reunions part 4: Burning Bright
by Sylmarien
Summary: James Stone has been having strange dreams about a certain raven haired girl we all know with a fiery temper. When he accidentally touches the red crystal she wears around her neck during a dodgeball match he finds out why and all hell breaks loose.
1. Dodging Fire

_There was a young woman kneeling on the floor. It was dark outside but the moon and stars weren't shining at all. James looked around the room and saw nothing but girl and the fire. She was surrounded by it, shoulder high tongues of flame crackling around her in perfect circle. She was crying. Even though her face was hidden by her hair he could tell she was crying. The tears dropped onto the floor one by one and she didn't try to wipe them away, she just stared at the small jar in her hands with an expression so sad James' heart ached in sympathy. In a way the flames echoed his feelings because as one they leant inwards, touching her shoulders, caressing them in a distinctly paternal manner, like mothers and fathers giving her a hug. She looked up at him then, a crystal hanging around her neck reflecting the fire's light back into his eyes. Her tear streaked face looked beautiful in the flickering light; she seemed to see right through him to someone else behind. Her lips moved and he heard her breathe one word, "Jaedite."_

James Stone walked slowly down the steps of the temple, watching his feet to keep from tripping in the dark. He'd just finished talking to the old priest of the temple, jotting down notes at a furious pace as the old man waxed eloquent on the history and heritage of the temple, the famous people who supposedly came there and the meaning behind each of the trinkets that was sold at the shop for ridiculous prices. James sighed as he walked, "Man, what possessed me to pick such a boring run down temple for my history assignment." He shook his head "I must be going mad."

Sailor Mars leapt from the high branches of a tree down to the ground near the entrance to her temple home. A sharp cracking sound split the air as she landed and Mars swore in a most unladylike fashion as the heel of her left shoe broke beneath the impact of her landing.

"Oh that's just great," she remarked sourly, "My shoe withstands battles with hordes of evil Negaverse monsters and yet now after beating a single puny youma it decides to break. My day has now been a complete write-off!"

In a fit of pique she removed the offending shoe from her foot and hurled it out into the darkness. Irritated beyond belief by the betrayal of her trusty Sailor uniform Mars decided to let off some steam with some target practice before inevitably working herself into another temper as she furiously tried to finish the homework the youma attack had so rudely interrupted. It was late at night and no one would be around to see a Sailor Soldier practice but the moon was bright enough to shoot by and that was more than enough for Mars. Removing her other shoe and placing it out of the way she whispered, "Mars Flame Sniper" and summoned her flaming bow.

Drawing the bowstring across her heart and taking careful aim she shot twice into the darkness and was rewarded by the sound of her arrows flying true and hitting the well protected trunk of her one of her practice trees. Changing position and angle she fired again, then changed position and fired again–this time a little bit faster. With each sequence of 'fire, change position, fire' she accelerated her movements until she was leaping, running, dodging and weaving like the flickering flame she controlled, all the while steadily firing arrows which time and again hit her intended target. It was not for nothing that Rei was known as the 'Queen of Archery' at school. Sailor Mars' more magical abilities may not manifest in her normal life but the hours of practice that both she and Rei put in showed true in both their lives.

Replacing his notebook in his bag after checking his notes James was readjusting a loosened bag strap when out of the darkness something whizzed by his head, narrowly missing his nose and thunked into a tree on the other side of the stairs. "What the heck?"

The object that had nearly brained him turned out to be a scarlet red, high-heel shoe with a broken heel. "Of all the stupid things to throw." James muttered to himself eyeing the pointy end of the shoe, "You could really hurt someone with this. Although..." he looked at the shoe more closely "It's quite a nice piece of work, I wonder how they broke such a sturdy heel?"

He turned in the direction the shoe had come from and saw a flickering light through the trees. "I bet whoever that is threw the shoe." He sighed, "I'd better return it to them in case they want to try and get it fixed." Fixing his bag strap he walked into the woods towards the light, expecting to find a torch bearing girl in a huff, maybe with a few friends. What he found was something so entirely not what he expected that he dropped the shoe and just stood and stared.

After about half an hours' target practice Mars' anger had cooled noticeably and with a sigh of regret she fired a last arrow then dismissed her bow, it was nice to use her gifts in a non-life threatening situation for once, even if it was just to vent. Her good humour restored Mars disappeared into the woods and back to the temple to start her homework. She was unaware of a silent observer who, now that she was no longer in danger of mistaking him for a target slipped away into the night, carrying with him the memory of a beautiful raven haired girl with a bow and arrows of living fire.

James jumped the fence at school just beating the bell to class and taking his seat as the teacher came in. Shooting a smirk at his friends he gave them a thumbs up and settled back in his seat. It was good seat, positioned not too close to the board so as to be seen as a study freak but not too far so that he couldn't see or hear the teacher. He glanced up towards the front of the room; it was also the perfect spot from which to spy on a certain raven-haired girl who always sat near the front of the class.

He'd never understood his fascination with Rei, she was no prettier than some of the other girls in their class and she was a good student, performing just a little better than him usually. There was nothing in her appearance, personality or actions to make him dream about her and dream about her he did. At least once a week he woke up with a start after seeing her look right through him and whisper that name.

It irritated him to no end that while he was tossing and turning trying to get back to sleep she was probably off in dreamland happily oblivious to his weekly bouts of insomnia. He'd taken to watching her whenever he could. Not like some crazed stalker but rather looking to try and find out some reason why he felt that they were inexplicably connected. So far he hadn't had much success. Rei was a very busy girl, either working at the temple, organising something for school or hanging out with her friends at their favourite arcade or café. None of them were good places for eavesdropping or discreet following.

As time passed James grew more frustrated, it seemed as if something was yelling at him inside his head and telling him that something important was going to happen. He wished whatever it was would happen soon, all the mystery was driving him crazy-he glared at Rei from behind. Things had better become clear soon or he was going to have to do something about it himself.

Rei felt a prickling sensation on the back of her neck, turning slightly she saw out of the corner of her eye that James Stone was glaring at her again. She sighed, what did he have against her? She didn't even speak to the guy much and yet he seemed to hold some sort of personal grudge against her, something that made him glare at her all the time and follow her around.

She'd been told about James long before he was put in her class. Her friends gave her the lowdown. He was a handsome guy, good at sports and a good student but far too quick with his wit for any teachers liking. He was polite to the girls but to any of her friends knowledge had never once had a single girlfriend. Sure he got confessed to a lot but every time he kindly but firmly turned the girl down. He was friendly enough with the boys of the class, getting into the usual amount of trouble one would expect but with girls he seemed to be looking for a particular ideal that was never measured up too. Rei found it strange but since _she_ wasn't interested in him paid it and him no more attention than a friendly introduction and the occasional greeting in the hallway.

The teacher droned on and her concentration wavered, how could he make something as interesting as medieval weaponry sound so boring? In spite of herself Rei found her mind drifting back to the Sailor Scout meeting of the day before. Once everyone had arrived talk turned from idle chatter to more serious business. With the return of Chaos to the hearts of everyone in the universe it was no longer contained within the body of Sailor Galaxia and as a result there was now great potential for harm to be done to the people of Earth by dark forces if the Scouts were not vigilant. Chaos was the reason for the reoccurrence of youma attacks, even after Galaxia and her minions had been defeated.

The Light of Hope had also returned to everyone's hearts where it belonged however the war between Hope and Chaos could not be left to its own devices. The time was soon coming when Eternal Sailor Moon and the rest of the Sailor Scouts would need to once again send forth their power to protect Earth.

Signs of the impending Global catastrophe Sailor Pluto had spoken of were already appearing and everyone knew that the day would not be far off when the Earth's people would be sent into their long sleep to await the day when Neo-Queen Serenity would wake them in the 30th century.

Luna and Artemis gave them a brief description of the Earth's current state and Ami showed them a model she'd made on her computer that predicted roughly when and where disasters were likely to happen as well as how long it was safe for Eternal Sailor Moon to wait before using the Silver Crystal –they wanted to save as many lives as possible but the future scarred and war torn Earth was a far cry from its present day self. The scouts wanted to give the people of Earth as much time to enjoy their planet as possible before they lost it forever.

The discussion had come to a close later in the evening and Rei had farewelled her friends before cleaning up and then preparing for bed. As her body performed the well known and oft repeated movements her mind drifted back over the last couple of weeks. For some time now a strange feeling of excitement had been growing within her, warring with the anxiety she felt about the future. It was as if something was telling her that something wonderful was going to happen but she wasn't sure what. The Fire wouldn't tell her anything save that whatever was going to happen would be good and would have a profound effect on her and the other scouts lives.

Rei didn't like the idea of not knowing anything about something so important but had to face the fact that despite her few extra abilities she was not omniscient and therefore every once in a while would have to face the unknown future just like everyone else. She hated doing that.

The other scouts had been very supportive and forgiving when she'd told them about her vague premonition though Serena had made a few snide but not really meant comments just to keep up appearances.

As class wore on she periodically felt James' eyes bore into her back but strove as usual to ignore him. It worked, to a degree but she was always aware that he was there. Thankfully she had P.E next and was able to escape his gaze for a few minutes while they all changed. This week they were practicing agility and accuracy so the teacher got them to play dodgeball. Rei was usually very good at evading the balls sent her way, it was no different than dodging youma attacks and she enjoyed frustrating her opponents. Most of the class knew her skills but still couldn't resist the challenge of trying to hit her.

Today however, she had other things to think about. As she jumped around dodging balls her Mars Crystal started sporadically heating up. It would be warm one moment and then cool the next. Distracting as it was Rei was more concerned by what it could mean. The game wore on and soon there were only a few people left on her team. James was one of them and she tried to stay away from him as much as she could. It wasn't easy on the small court.

Suddenly, as a ball homed in on her and she jumped left to dodge, James leapt to catch one coming from her right. As he jumped past her Rei's Mars Crystal blazed with heat. Rei screamed with pain and dropped to her knees, yanking the crystal out from under her shirt before it burned a hole in her chest. James, distracted by her scream turned to see what was wrong and got hit by the ball he was trying to catch. Stumbling he turned and then slipped, falling on top of her, his outstretched arm knocking the crystal from her hands. In the instant his hand touched it the Crystal burst into red light and flame and reality collapsed around both their ears.


	2. Prophecy

_In the past his name was Jaedite and he was one of the four Generals of Earth who guarded the heir to the throne Prince Endymion and controlled Earth's military forces. When negotiations were opened with the Moon Kingdom in order for Earth to petition entry into the Silver Millennium, Endymion and his Generals travelled to the Moon in a gesture of trust and goodwill to help smooth the process. Important as the negotiations were though, even Endymion was surprised at the welcoming party which awaited them when they arrived. _

_Six beautiful ladies stood on the terrace as they exited the transporter and Queen Serenity herself stepped forward to welcome them. Jaedite recognized the Queen and her daughter but was unfamiliar with the other four. They were introduced as Princess Serenity's entourage and guardians, the Sailor Scouts, one from each of the four inner planets of the Silver Millennium and a Princess of their Planet. The blonde-haired blue-eyed beauty who could have passed for Princess Serenity's double was Sailor Venus, the brunette who was almost as tall as the Endymion was Sailor Jupiter and her shorter blue-haired companion was Sailor Mercury. Jaedite smiled politely and bowed respectfully to each of them but froze as he was introduced to the last Sailor. Her violet eyes bored into his as if trying to decipher all the secrets he held and her smile had the exact degree of warmth dictated by manners and not one iota more._

_A bit unnerved by her stare he made the necessary greeting but didn't try to start a conversation or make any other comments. As the party moved up the path to the reception hall he snuck glances at her, trying to figure out what he could have possibly done to earn her ire in the few seconds he'd been on the moon._

_All through dinner her frosty demeanour didn't crack and her eyes bored holes in his back. Towards the end of the night he glanced up to catch her staring at him again and smiled, trying to break the ice. She didn't respond but simply nodded and then like a switch turning off dismissed him completely._

_It was like that for the first two weeks, Mars would either glare at him like he was evil incarnate or ignore him as if he didn't exist except for the occasions when speaking was absolutely necessary. He had no idea of the prophecy about him that she'd been given, nor the horrible way in which it would be fulfilled, all he knew then was that for some reason Sailor Mars didn't like him and he'd better find a way to change that soon._

_The turning of the tide in his favour came during the fifth week of their stay and the second week of negotiations. After touring Mercury and Venus the party from Earth was being shown around Mars when a message came from an outlying town about a fire monster attack. Mars was a different world from many of the others in the Silver Millennium. Wilder and more dangerous than its relatively peaceful neighbours it was no strange thing to have monsters appear every now and then from the depths of the __Valles Marineris to attack towns and villages. The people of Mars were aware of the monsters that lived in the depths of their planets largest canyon and hunting parties were frequently sent to clear out the upper reaches and deter those monsters which lived below from venturing further up._

_With the attack on the village the King and Queen of Mars decided it was high time another hunting party went out. With all five Sailors as well as the Guardians of Earth present and willing to take part it was sure to be a hunt to remember. _

_They started out early in the morning and by mid-afternoon had reached the attacked village and were searching for the fire monster. The party had spread out over a quite an area and Jaedite, partly by coincidence partly by his own machinations had ended up with Mars as his search partner._

_As usual she ignored him magnificently except when courtesy or safety required communication. After about half an hour of silence Jaedite had had enough._

"_Alright, will you please tell me just what I've done to offend you so greatly?" he asked. "I hardly think I've done anything to warrant this treatment._

_Mars sighed and shifted uncomfortably. "It's not so much something you've done it's what you will do."_

"_I don't understand." Jaedite was in no mood to be forgiving._

_Mars blushed, "The day before you arrived the Fire gave me a vision about you and I'm trying to prevent it from happening."_

"_And what did it say?"_

_Mars went even redder, "I can't tell you."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because it's too embarrassing."_

"_Try me." Jaedite folded his arms and tried to stare her down._

_Mars met him stare for stare. "No."_

"_Fine," Jaedite snapped after long seconds had passed. "But will you at least stop ignoring me? I promise not to do anything you're not comfortable with but the silent treatment is getting really old. I'm sick of looking over my shoulder and finding you glaring at me."_

_Mars looked down and sighed "I _am_ sorry about that but if you knew what I'd seen you'd be on edge too."I promise to stop glaring at you and everything and act like a normal person. It's just frustrating okay. You'll have to give me some time."_

_Jaedite was willing to be reasonable now that he'd 'won' the argument. "I guess I should apologise too."_

_He admitted, "I should have tried to talk to you earlier rather than blowing up at you like I did."_

_Mars held out a hand "Truce?"_

_Jaedite shook it. "Truce."_

_The hunt progressed well after that. Soon the Fire monster was caught and they moved down into the canyon. Jaedite bagged several beasts of a reasonable size but Mars was in her element and brought down the two biggest beasts of the Hunt. Needless to say the other Scouts were very proud of her._

_At the celebratory party that night Mars and Jaedite continued to honour their truce and danced together and talked and decided that it was much better to be on speaking terms that not. Much to Mar's chagrin._

_As the tour went on to Jupiter and the outer planets and then came back to the Moon for the beginning of final negotiations the relationship between the two of them got better and better. Jaedite was fun-loving when circumstances allowed, always up for a joke even when it was on him and he made Mars smile with his quick and ready wit. Mars in spite of herself and her vision found that she liked his company. She was able to unwind when he was around, able to laugh at herself more and enjoy life rather than endure it. Before both of them knew it, they were falling in love. The other Sailor Scouts knew about Mars' vision and saw the signs but each felt and hoped that for once Mars and the Fire had been mistaken. It seemed as if nothing could go wrong with them. Sure they had their fights but Jaedite always found ways to apologise and Mars was more forgiving with him than she'd ever been with any of her other male friends. Everyone thought that it would be a happy ending for all._

_However things didn't go quite as planned. Stories of trouble on Earth started becoming more and more frequent. Reports came of a woman who summoned an army of monsters that crushed all in their way and of a dark energy she wielded that turned people's hearts to stone. Soon Endymion and his Generals had to leave for Earth to see what they could do to help._

_Mars had always known that duty would separate the two of them but it still came as a blow when the news finally arrived. Part of her was glad because it meant that she still had a chance to prevent her vision from coming true but that part was insignificant compared to the rest of her that had long ago decided in favour of falling in love._

_Jaedite met her in one of the Moon Palace's courtyards just before they were due to leave. He gave her a small box and asked her to open it. Curious Mars did so and found nothing in it. "What's the joke?" She asked, wise to his ways by now._

_Jaedite smiled, "No joke...this time anyway. It's a box to keep my letters to you in." He grinned "For some reason you struck me as an organised sort of person and I'm going to be writing you lots of letter while I'm away so I thought it would be nice for you to have a place to keep them. Feel free to hold and weep over it in the absence of my illustrious presence."_

_Mar smiled and examined the beautifully made box. "I love it. Thank you." She said and kissed him on the cheek. "You better come back or I'm going to have to track you down wherever it is you're hiding and pull you out by your ear."_

_Jaedite grinned back, "I figured you probably say that so the same goes for you."_

_Mars kissed him again, this time on the lips. "Agreed. Now go save Earth and come back as quickly as you can."_

_Jaedite nodded and gave her a salute. "Yes Ma'am." _

_It took time for news to get from Earth to the Moon. Not much time, but still too much for Mars as she and the rest of the Moon waited for the latest updates. They were never good. Step by Step Beryl was beating the Earth's forces back. Burying them under countless hordes of monsters that she summoned from the darkest reaches of the Negaverse. Endymion and his troops faced a losing battle from the start, it was all they could do to evacuate the cities before the enemy arrived and keep the evacuees safe as they made their way to the Moon and relative safety._

_Fortunately Beryl had one all important weakness. Endymion. As a human girl, before she was corrupted by Metallia and her power Beryl had been in love with the Earth Prince and one of her goals now was to either take him for herself or kill him so no one else could. Endymion and his Generals used this to their advantage, time and again sending out decoys, spreading stories and rumours, buying time for the evacuations to be completed. It was just barely enough._

_As Beryl came to the last stronghold on Earth, its capital city of Terra, her armies harried the heels of a wounded Endymion and his Generals as they fled through the streets towards the telepads and escape. Pride and arrogance made Beryl wait until the very last second to make her final attack and it cost her dearly. Endymion escaped to the moon, wounded but alive as his Generals sacrificed themselves to save him. It was bitter news for Mars and her friends. _

_It was not for long though, that she cried herself to sleep holding his box of letters for one month later theirs was a bitter and sorrowful reunion. No longer the Jadeite she knew but a commander of Beryl's armies Mars faced her love and saw him as the cruel, heartless monster the Negaverse had turned him into. In that instant she knew, fully and completely he was dead to her and the prophecy would come true._

_In the hours before the final battle Mars prepared herself for what was to come. Burning his box and the letters in it was the hardest thing she had ever done but when it was finished she knew she was strong enough to what had to be done. Even so she kept some of the ashes in small jar which she hung around her neck, unable to completely let go of the man she had once known._

_With the battle lines drawn and combat beginning in earnest Mars waited in a place of her choosing for Jaedite to come to her. He came, as she'd known he would, boldly and arrogantly striding down the sides of the bowl shaped meadow that had been one of Mars favourite places to go to meditate and talk with him._

"_Honey I'm home." He called when he was within earshot. "Did you miss me?"_

_Mars refused to give him an answer. "Why are you here?"_

_Jaedite smiled "Well, to either convince you to surrender to Queen Beryl or beat you to a pulp until you do." He held out a hand "Why not make things easy hmmm. I promise I'll only look at you from now on. It was you I was originally in love with anyway. Mind you once Beryl is through with you there might not be much left for me to love." The smile turned nasty. "She's not a very forgiving person."_

_Mars gripped her bow tighter. "What did she do to you?" she asked softly._

_Jaedite's smile tightened for a moment but then he relaxed, buffing a nail on his jacket.  
"Oh this and that, I'm sure you'll find out in time."_

"_No I won't. You are already dead." Mars raised her bow and pointed it at him. "You'll die here before you can kill any more innocent people."_

_Jaedite placed a hand dramatically over his heart. "You wound me fair lady. My heart bleeds from your cruelty." His face changed. "I guess I'll just have to repay every bit of pain in my heart by cutting it out of yours." With that he leapt for her, sword drawn and in a moment the battle was joined._

_Mars was not the strongest of the Sailors and with no close range combat weapon her choices for battle were limited but her cunning and other powers were not to be underestimated. Slowly but surely she drew Jaedite into the trap she had set, keeping her distance until she was sure he was where she wanted him. When he was in place she fired an arrow past him and set off the trap that would seal both their fates. _

_The arrow hit one of the many ofuda she'd hidden around the meadow before the battle began, setting off a chain reaction that raced around the entirety of the bowl, trapping them both within a circle of fire. Jaedite looked around and sneered. "Do you really think a little bit of fire is going to stop me. Whatever you intend to do I suggest you be careful. Even you can be hurt by your flames once they're released."_

_Rei knocked another arrow, "I am prepared for that." she said calmly and fired. _

_The arrow she shot was a special blunted type which she aimed straight for his chest. It thudded into him with all the force her bow could put behind it, knocking him to the ground and the wind out of his lungs. As he lay gasping for breath on the ground she used the time he recovered to gather up all her strength dismissing her bow and concentrating all her power on the last piece of the trap. As Jaedite lunged towards her, his sword aimed directly at her heart she closed her eyes and waited. _

_Something in Jaedite must still have loved her because the sword missed her heart by inches, stabbing through her shoulder and sinking up to the hilt with the force of his attack. As pain shot through her body Mars reached up and grabbed the hilt, pressing a last ofuda onto Jaedite's hands and paralyzing him for crucial seconds. Tears of pain and grief welled in her eyes and agony ripped through her heart and soul as she felt the deaths of two of her fellow Sailors. "Jupiter, Venus" she whispered, her heart almost breaking. "You didn't deserve to die like that." _

_Sadly she looked at the man before her, his face twisted in effort as he fought to move and remembered the words she'd heard in her vision "He will love you and in that instant condemn you to death." _

"_I guess the prophecy came true." She whispered to both herself and Jaedite._

_Looking up she saw dark columns of energy plunging out of the sky to destroy everything in their paths. To the East a pink light began to glow, getting bigger and bigger, Mars knew Queen Serenity had called on the power of the Silver Crystal. Sighing she smiled faintly at the oncoming light. "It's over."_

_Turning back to Jaedite she gave him one last look and then pointed her hands at the ground. She would spare her queen the taking of at least one life._

"_Mars Firebird Strike!" _

_The flaming bird erupted from her hands to reflect off the ground back onto both her and Jaedite. Within seconds it spread to the flames ringing the bowl and turned the entire meadow into a raging inferno. For long moments all Mars could feel was pain, a burning agony that went beyond her body and its physical senses but then the light of the Silver Crystal washed over her, banishing the pain and gently sending her ravaged spirit into the future to heal and be reborn. Thus died the Soldier of Flame, Passion and also War._


	3. All's Fair in Love & War

As the rush of images, sounds and feelings subsided Rei looked up to see worried faces floating above her. Thinking as fast as she could while still trying to wade through all her new memories she pulled a weak smile. "I'm alright." She said, "I think I twisted my wrist when I went down though and I'm pretty sure James hit his head when he fell. Can we go to the nurse's office to get checked out?" she looked to the teacher for permission. He nodded.

"Can you manage on your own?"

Rei smiled "Sure, I'll be okay."

Carefully she helped James to his feet, conscious of her 'sore' wrist and guided the still dazed young man to the nurse's office where he collapsed on the bed and promptly fell unconscious.

Thankful for this Rei sat on the other bed and thought long and hard about everything she'd just remembered. It was a lot to take in all at once, she guessed the reason she hadn't fallen unconscious too was because she was used to big surprises and had already regained some of her memories of the Moon.

"But how did this happen?" she wondered. "Are the other three Generals here as well? Is this what the Fire was telling me about?" She glanced at James, "I wonder what he'll do when he wakes up?"

Jaedite returned to consciousness gradually. At first all he could think of was Rei, how she was Sailor Mars and how he had loved her long ago. How he still loved her now. Other things slowly began to intrude on his reflection, the fact he was lying down and had somehow changed into his General outfit because he could feel his sword digging into his hip. Opening his eyes he turned his head and froze. Rei was sitting opposite him, an unreadable expression on her face.

"So you're awake." She said calmly. "Do you remember everything?"

Jaedite sat up and turned to face her unsure how to respond. "I guess so." He said finally, "It's a lot to remember all at once.

"Do you remember the end?" Rei pressed.

Jaedite flinched. "Yes" he replied softly.

"Then I have only one thing to say to you." Rei got up walked over and then slapped him in the face with all her strength. "YOU JERK!" she yelled and then walked out, slamming the door behind her.

Jaedite felt the red mark already forming on his cheek and winced. Rei could give a good slap when she wanted to. Then he grinned to himself, she hadn't changed a bit. The look on Rei's face, it hadn't been hate that shone in her eyes but anger and something much more hopeful –love, hurt and a refusal to show either. He knew that right now she would rather die than admit that he hurt her however after she'd calmed down a bit she'd be more willing to listen to reason. It meant all he had to do was win her over and he'd already done it once, he knew how to wage his war. Very. Very carefully.

Rei opened the door to her room and then immediately slammed it shut. "Not again." She groaned. On her windowsill was a note and yet another gift from Jaedite. Sighing she opened the door, went to the window and picked up her latest present. It was a single crimson Calla Lilly, the accompanying note read "To match your beauty, Princess of Fire and Passion." Rei blushed and threw the note in the bin but put the Lilly in a small vase of water. After all it wasn't the flowers fault it was sent by a jerk.

"I wonder why he even bothers?" she asked herself. "He should know I won't forgive him. Not for a million years."

Outside Jaedite sighed but consoled himself with the fact that at least she'd accepted the flower. _And she blushed when she read the note _he thought _I'm making progress._ For the past two weeks he'd been leaving little gifts in her room, a pretty rock, a flower, small things he thought she'd like. At first she'd thrown every single one of them out but as time went on she kept one or two. She still threw out all the notes though. At school she ignored him magnificently, avoiding him like the plague and talking in monosyllables when she absolutely had to communicate. 'Patience is a virtue' was a phrase Jaedite repeated to himself over and as the weeks passed and Rei thawed with glacial slowness. Eventually though he got to the point where she would actually look at him voluntarily and for more than a second. When he was able to keep her gaze long enough he would smile. Of course when he did she immediately went back to ignoring him but he knew it couldn't last.

The real breakthrough came when he was cornered by her friends in the school yard one day after Rei had escaped to her archery lesson.

"Alright buddy, you've been stalking Rei for weeks and we want to know why. Right. Now." Lita towered over him, her face hostile.

"I dunno guys, he's kinda cute when you see him up close. Maybe we should give him a shot." Mina gave him a sly grin "he might just be the one to break the Ice Princess' armour."

"Your sudden and unasked for attraction to Rei after a whole year of cordial contact is very suspicious." If Ami had glasses she would have glared at him over them. As it was she still glared.

"Tell us why you're stalking Rei and we might go easy on you." Serena waved her finger in his face. "And I mean _might_."

Seeing all four of them together like that almost made Jaedite burst out laughing. It was exactly like the time on the Moon when they'd cornered poor Zoicite before he confessed to Mercury. Striving to keep a calm face he thought quickly. Rei obviously hadn't told them his real identity or they wouldn't have risked approaching him like this in case of a confrontation. With that in mind he set about bringing the four girls onto his side.

"I like her." He said simply. "Actually I think I love her but I don't know if she's ready to acknowledge that yet. I offended her really badly and she isn't going to forgive me easily but that isn't going to stop me from trying. As for my sudden interest, that's a long story only Rei has the right to tell you, ask her." He met each girl's gaze and continued, "I know you're just trying to protect Rei and I appreciate that as her friends you have that right. But I also have a right to apologise and try and make things right between us."

Taken aback by his bold statement the girls were silent for a moment.

"Well if you feel that way about her I don't see why we should stop you." Serena finally said.

"But I promise if you hurt her I'm going to make you incapable of ever hurting another girl again." Lita cracked her knuckles warningly.

"Hmmmm, maybe we should give the little lovebirds some help." Mina grinned, "I bet I can get Rei to forgive him. I'm not called the Goddess of Love for nothing."

"Don't go trying anything crazy Mina. If James wants us leave things alone I think we should respect that and let them work this out between them." Ami cautioned, not liking the look on Mina's face. Islands sank into the sea when Mina got _that_ look on her face.

James smiled. "Let us be for a little while longer." He said, "and if nothing changes you've got free rein."

"Deal!" Mina held out her hand for him to shake. "You've got one month."

"What? Why am I on ICT duty today? I'm not supposed to be on till next week!" Rei cried. Looking at the roster in dismay. _And with him!_ She added privately. "The universe hates me." Slumping in her seat she put her head in her hands and waited for class to start. Afterschool she slowly walked to the computer room only to find Jaedite already there.

"Hi Rei," he said cautiously.

"Please don't talk to me." Rei said as she marched over to the cleaning cupboard and pulled out the cloths and spray used to clean the computers, "My day's been one horrible experience after another and I can't deal with you right now. Please let's just clean and get this over and done with."

Jaedite sighed. "Yes princess."

"Don't call me that."

And thus the afternoon progressed. They made good time cleaning the computers and had started on the desk and floor when the last bell rang. Rei practically threw her cleaning rags into the cupboard, picked up her stuff and ran to the door. She pulled on the handle only to find it wouldn't budge. She tried again. Nothing. The door remained steadfastly closed.

Suddenly a familiar giggle came from the other side and a piece of paper was slid under the door.

It read: _We're not going to let you so make sure you have a proper talk with James. See you tomorrow morning._

"Oh no! Mina! Let me out you minx. What the hell are you doing this for?" She tried jiggling the locking mechanism back and forth but whichever way she pulled it the door stayed closed.

"Is something wrong?" Jaedite asked from where he was putting his own cloth and spray away.

Rei turned around her face too scary to describe.

"Did you put Mina up to this?" she demanded. "I swear if you did I'm gonna burn you three ways from midday!"

Jaedite backed away, "No! I swear I didn't ask her to do any of this. All I did was tell her I like you when she asked me. I didn't know this would happen."

"But you knew her from our time on the Moon!" Rei was beyond furious "You should have known she'd try something like this!"

"What am I supposed to be a mind reader?" Now Jaedite was getting angry too. "If you hadn't noticed telepathy is not one of the powers I possess!"

"I know that!" Rei yanked viciously on the door but succeeded only in hurting her hand as the force of her pull ripped it free from the handle. Sucking her abused fingers she resolutely turned away from Jaedite and marched over to the window. It was locked.

"Damn."

"Look maybe we can call a teacher or the caretaker to get us out." Jaedite suggested, trying to stifle his annoyance.

"Do you have any of their numbers?" Rei asked. "The phone in here goes directly to IT help and they've all gone home."

Jaedite sighed. "Ok scratch that idea then. Can you call your parents?"

Rei went still. "They're out of the country." She replied quietly.

Jaedite could've kicked himself. He _knew_ her dad was a politician who cared more about his career than her. "What about your Grandfather?" he asked.

"He's out too." Rei said shortly.

"And I guess you're other friends are in on this too?"

"Probably, the witches. They're gonna pay so bad for this."

"Okay so were stuck here until morning and the caretaker lets us out or your friends decide to unlock the door."

"Yes. Dammit." Rei slumped into a chair and glared out the window.

Jaedite picked a chair and sat down too. "So now what?" he asked.

Rei sighed "Now we pick our brains and try to think of another way to get out. Start brainstorming."

James shifted, and held up a hand, "Before we do that, since we could potentially be here all night, here."

A small box appeared on the desk in front of Rei. She turned but Jaedite hadn't moved from his seat.

"I was going to leave it on your desk but that one will have to do."

Rei stared suspiciously at the box for several minutes before curiosity got the better of her. Refusing to look behind her she opened the box and gasped. Inside it nestled in white velvet cloth was a beautiful crystal bird pendant on a silver chain.

"I heard about the bird you got from your cousin and I saw this in a store." Jaedite said in reply to her unspoken question. "I thought you might like it, Mina told me Rubies are your favourite stones. Tourmalines are pretty close in colour so I thought it would be alright."

Rei was speechless, torn between keeping up her appearance of indifference and accepting the beautiful gift.

As the silence lengthened Jaedite waited patiently, knowing how difficult this was for her. Finally after an age Rei uttered two words.

"Thank you."

Jaedite smiled "Your welcome."

After that the silence stretched again, but it was different this time. There was an air of hope that hadn't been there before. As the sun went down and Jaedite's stomach rumbled he fished in his bag for something to eat. "Nothing," he groaned to himself and then blinked as from nowhere a piece of cake appeared on his desk.

"Serena is always hungry." Rei said by way of explanation and turned back around, but not before he caught the hint of a blush on her cheeks.

"thanks princess." He said and demolished the cake. Rei didn't reply.

As there was nothing else to do and he probably wasn't going to get a better opportunity Jaedite decided to go for it and see what happened. "Rei, can I talk to you for a sec?" he asked. "You don't have to turn around or anything, just please listen. I know that back on the Moon I did something so terrible to you that even up till now you bear the scars inside. I know that it's going to take a long time for you to get over that and even _start_ to trust me. All I'm asking is that you give me a chance. Give me enough rope to either hang myself all over again or pull us back to where we used to be. Together."

Rei was motionless in front of him but she hadn't got up and punched him so he ploughed on. "I really love you Rei, as Sailor Mars and as the normal you. I love how strong and noble you are as a Sailor and how you protect the Princess and Earth. I love how bossy you are at school when you organise events and how you dream of a big, bright future. I love how you fight with Serena and show how you really feel with your friends. Right now it may not be possible but I just want to know, someday way in the future can you forgive me enough to give me a chance?"

Finished with his speech and terribly afraid of what the reply might be Jaedite waited nervously as Rei sat still as stone in front of him, unmoving and silent. The minutes ticked by and he began to think he'd forever ruined his chances with her.

Finally Rei spoke. "You know. After I got my memories back, I remembered why I always carry this with me no matter where I go."

After so long a period of silence, Jaedite was beyond surprised to hear Rei speak, let alone turn around smile at him.

She held out a tiny jar, hung on a chain that she lifted from around her neck. "Even after I'd thrown everything of you away, I couldn't let go of this. It stayed with me when I was reborn and I never knew what it meant until you came back into my life."

Jaedite stared at the jar, remembering Mar's final fight and identical jar she'd shown him before the battle began. "My letters." He said. "You still kept them?"

Rei sighed, "Yes. Even after everything we did to each other I still couldn't let it end the way it did. I wanted to give us a proper end so then we could have a proper beginning. She grinned wryly at him

"I'm sorry it took so long for me to tell you that. My pride wouldn't let me admit it after my initial reaction."

"Thank you." Jaedite's serious expression made Rei pause. "Thank you for giving me a second chance. I promise you I won't need another."

"I know." Rei stood up and came to sit down on the chair next to him. "So what now?"

Jaedite grinned. "Now? Now we call Mina and tell her to let us the hell out of here."

Rei grinned right back, tears starting to collect in her eyes. The Fire had been right. This was definitely a good thing that would affect the rest of her life. "Sounds good to me."


End file.
